Refrigerator-car construction



Oct. 16, 1928.

D. FlNLEY REFRIGERATOR CAR GONSTRUGTIONv Filed May 17, 1926 invention which is Patented O ct.' i6, 1928.

UNITED STATES IDOZIEB FINLEY, OF BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA;

FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA,

rANms, iNc., or san ASSIGNOR T THE PARAIFFINE COK- A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

nErnreaaAron-can coivsfiaucasion.`

appiicatin-sigg nay 17, i926. serial 110.109,541.

i y My invention relates to freight cars, and

particularly to insulatedfreight cars used for transporting perishable .products such as -fresh fruits, vegetables, .meats or the like. One of theo jects of my invention-is to l'provide an insulated freight car having a water-proof ioor which is not solialole to deterioration as those now in use, and which may. be easily kept in a clean, sanitary, and serviceable condition. l 'e Another object ofmy inventionfis the production 'of a car in which icing is not necessarilylimited to the ice compartments f at the end of the car, but in which icing may 1.5 be .conducted throughout the entire interior car space. v

z Another object of the invention is the provisionY of a carhaving a iioor structure `highly resistant to injury and deterioration Aunder the abuse incident to the various ways p of loading to which a car may be subjected. A further object o f the invention is ,the

` construction of an insulated freight car havvalue than those ving ay higher insulating now in use, and this withoutan attendant increase in cost or without an attendant decrease in available'carrying space.

My inventionpossesses other objects and features of advantage some of whichA with the foregoing-will be set forth in the following description of the preferred form of my illustrated in the draw, ings accompan and forming part of the i specification. t is to be understood that I 'donot limit myself to the showing by said drawings and descri tion, as I may adopt variations of the pre erred form Within the scope of my invention as' set 'forth in the claims.

I n the drawings: Figu 4o re 1 is a sectional view thru a freight car constricted according to my invention; the upper portion of the car is broken away l to reduce the size of the figure.

Figure 2 is a sectional view thru a portion of the car,.. and showing in enlarged detail the construction of the floor.

Insulated usually rovided with a floor havin a wearing sur ace of wood consistin o tongue and groove lumber about 1% thick, and which is given a soaking coat of parafiine. Below such wearing surface is usuallyA a lower sheathing of wood and' between which surface is disposed a'layer and the wearing -of the ioor boarding, Iby excessive car vibration, with t .'that. such floor structure soon ceases to be 'waterproof, and fails to prevent water from freight cars now in use are ventin of insulation material such yas cork, felt, matted sugar cane fiber, or the like. vThe paraffine coat being non-yielding, does not respond to the expansion and contraction and is'easil broken e result reaching the insulating material below, which of course eatly reduces its insulating value. Furt ermore such a car structure easily accumulates dirt offers little resistance to abrasion,.and w en in-bad condition, is difficult and expensive to restore to itsV original condition. Applicants invention, in addition to ,offering numerous advantages, obviates the foregoing defects.

Referrin lto the drawings, my invention comprises t e usual freighticar carriage comrising wheels 2 mounted'on the axle 3 and fitted with the truck frames 4 uponl which are mounted the sills 6. Cross sills l7 are mounted at spaced intervals upon the sills f 6 and lsupport a plurality of longitudinal floor beams 8, preferablyof Wood and upon which the weight of the ca'r sper-structure is distributed. i v

Secured to the .beams 8 is' the lower or outside wooden floor boarding or sheathing 9, and s aced therefrom by means of spacers 11,`pre erably'of wood and which may conveniently extend the lengthof the car, is an upper floor boarding or sheathing 12. Both the up er and lower floor sheathings substantiaily cover the beams 8,'and the n um" ber of floor spacers 11'may be varied or they may be` entirely dispensed with according to the`character of he insulation filling. Interposed between the lower and upper floor sheathings 9 and 12 is-a filling 13 of insulating material which mai consist of pressed cork blocks, loose cor hair felt, 'matted sugar cane'fiber, insulating blocks of the type commerciallysold under the name of Celite, or any similar material. The filling is preferabl. protected above and below from moisture, by sheets of asphaltic paper 14 interposed between the filling .and the sheathings 9 and 12. y

Over the upper sheathin 12 I provide a 105 covering which forms the oor surface and which not only constitutes means for pr'e'- access of water to the insulating I filling ut which forms a very durable surface particularly constituted to stand the .semi-solid material sheet 19 which is also saturated with msulating material 23 rough wear of truckwheels and freight cases. 'Cemented to the upper sheathing 12 by a quick drying asphaltic paint 16 1s a sheet offabric or felt 17 saturated with a referably an asphaltic compound semi-solid) at ordinary temperatures. To the' sheet 17 is cemented, y a similar paint 18, a bitumen coated fibrous some This bitumen coating is on the upper and wearing surface of the floor, and coalesces more or less with the saturating compound.

The bounding edges of the sheets 17 and 19 f are turned upwardly and are secured to the side ,walls of the car. The side walls comsemi-solid material.

vprise an inner sheathing 21 and an outer sheathing 22 between which is protected by asphaltic sheets 24 and 26 as in the floor structure. A plurality of wooden beams 27 extending longitudinally of the sides and between the sheathings 24 and 26 constitute the carbody framework. The outer side sheathing 22 extends below the flooring and is secured to the side bottom platel 28 by any suitable means, and the inner sheathing 21 which lies contiguous to the asphaltic sheet 24, extends down overthev upturned edge of the bitumen coated sheet 19 and the upturned edge of the saturated sheet 17, both of which arepreferably secured to the asphaltic sheet provide'a drain 31,

v [which side-sheathin 21.

- floor covering, the strains and shocks reb fore provide a f 24 and the lower beam 27 by nails 29.f In this manner water is prevented from gain-l in access to the flooring by way of the car s1 es.

So as to keep the car dry at all times I having a stopper 32 and which extends 'thru the floor structure. This construction permits the carrying of ice in the car and also enables the car to be `readily washed out.

It is frequently desirable to allow cold -air to circulate below the car contents, I theregrating 33 spaced from the 34 and formed in sections are preferably hinged to' the inner When not required, the grating may e placed in a vertical position alongside the sidewalls.-

Because ofthe inherent resiliency of the floor by cleats ceived by the floor when the car is under wa will not ali'ect the waterproof featureof the floor, and it has beein found that the durability of the floor far exceeds those now in use Iclaim: v

which is a filling of bod sheathings,

an upper and a lower sheathing, an insulated 2. In a car construction a floor comprising an upper and a lower sheathing, an insulated filling interposed lower sheathing, solid material sheathing, a bitumen coated fibrous sheet secured t'o said iirst mentioned sheet and forming the wearing surface of the licor, and a drain extending thru saidfloor.

3. In a car construction, a side wall emying an inner andan outer sheathing,

a sheet saturated with semibetween sald upper and and secured to said upperan insulating filling interposed between said a flooring abutting saidside wall and comprising an upper and alower sheathing having an insulating filling interposed therebetween, asheet saturated with semi-so1id material and cemented to said upper sheathing, a bitumen coated fibrous sheet cemented to said saturated sheet and having an upturned edge secured to said side wall, the lower end of said inner sheathing extending over said upturned edge.

4. In a car construction a side wall embodying an inner and an outer sheathing, an insulatlng filling interposed between said sheathings, a waterproof sheet interposed between said inner sheathing and said filling, a flooring abutting-said side wall and comprising an upper and a lowe'r sheathing having an insulating filling interposed therebeween, a sheet saturated with semi-solid material and cemented to said. upper sheathing, a bitumen coated fibrous sheet cemented to said saturated sheet and having an upturned edge secured to said said waterproof sheet, the lower end' of said edge of said bitumen Acoated brous sheet.

In a car construction a iioor comprising an upper anda lower sheathing, an insulated filling yinterposed lower sheathings, a sheet saturated with semi-solid material, ing said sheet to said upper sheathing, a ltumen coated fibrous sheet covering said y saturated sheet and forming the wearing surface of the floor, and a layer of cement securing said bitumen coated sheet to said saturated sheet.

In-testimony whereof, I have hereunto set s. my hand. 1; In a car construction a floor comprising DOZIER FINLEY.

side wall and against etween said upper and a layer of cement secur- 

